Adjustable shelf support



Feb. 4, 1964 KATEs 3,120,201

ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPORT Filed Feb. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 4, 1964 R. KATES 3,120,201

ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPORT Filed Feb. 3, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 74 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,120,201 ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPQRT Richard Kates, Park Lue, Madison, NJ. Filed Feb. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 87,010 4 Claims. (1. 108144) This invention relates to means for adjustably supporting a normally horizontal member, such as a shelf or, more particularly, to such for storage racks and the like.

A primary object of my invention is to provide a storage rack, desirably constructed of sheet metal such as steel, wherein the parts may be rigidly secured together in adjusted position, wherein the construction is such that said rack may be made with a minimum amount of material and assembled and adjusted with ease to provide a construction which is rigid, and wherein there is a mutual cooperation between the shelves and legs, whereby the shelves hold the legs in rigid position and the legs hold the shelves ri idly together with an indefinite range of adjustment of the shelves vertically on the legs.

Another object of my invention is to provide a storage rack consisting of shelf means desirably rectangular in plan and supported at each corner by a leg, wherein each leg is hollow and extends along a flange portion at a corner of the shelf means and there are tightenable means which extend between a keeper plate slidable along a leg and corner flange means, to hold said shelf means in position and adjusted as to height.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure comprising hollow upright means opening along edges defining a longitudinal slot, a member normally supported thereby in a horizontal position, with a flange portion thereof apertured, a keeper plate slidable in said upright means, and tightenable means passing between said plate and said supported member to frictionally hold the latter in a position adjusted as to height.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followin detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and do not define the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a storage rack embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view of a corner of the rack to show how a leg is connected to one of the shelves.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line 33 of FIGURE 1, in the direction of the arrows, but to about the scale of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line 44 of FIGURE 3, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the line 55 of FIGURE 3, in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a storage rack 11 embodying my invention, fully assembled, with a plurality of normally horizontal shelves 12 supported by and connected to a plurality of normally upright or vertical legs 13. In the present embodiment there is shown four shelves supported by four legs. It will be understood that, although the shelves are shown generally rectangular in plan, they may be triangular or other straightor curved-sided shape, with a leg at each corner or at the intersections between the respective sidesv Each shelf 12 is desirably formed of pressed metal, such as steel, and as a single unitary member to provide a 3,120,201 Patented Feb. 4, 1964 normally horizontal flat support surface 14 from which depends or upstands, as desired, a normally vertical peripheral flange 15. Each flange 15 is desirably connected to the fiat surface 14 along curved corners 20. Each flange is blunted and desirably of increased depth at each of its four corners, as indicated at 16. Although the present embodiment shows each shelf flange with corner portions 16 arcuate or curved about normally vertical axes, it will be understood that the corner portions may be flat and extend, for example, at angles of 45 to the side portions, or of other configuration so as to accurately nest with the correspondingly formed legs.

Each flange portion 16 is desirably apertured, as indicated at 17, to receive one or more tightenable connecting devices. In this embodiment the devices take the form of screws or bolts 18 threaded, as indicated at 19, to be received in correspondingly apertured and threaded portions 21 in keeper plates 22. The screws 18 may be notched, as indicated at 23, to receive a screw driver or other operating tool, or they may have square or hexagonal heads to receive a wrench for turning them into place or removing them as desired.

If the corner portions 16 are arcuate about vertical axes, as illustrated in the present embodiment, then the legs 13 are hollow and of corresponding curvature to nest around the blunted or curved corner portions 16 of the shelves, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 5. Specifically, each leg desirably comprises an exterior convex web portion 24, the normally vertical edges of which are curved through approximately as indicated at 25, and continued generally coaxial with the web portion 24 are flanges 2 5 and 27. The adjacent edges 26a and 27a of these flanges are spaced from one another to define a longitudinal normally vertical slot 28 to allow for passage of the shanks or threaded portions 19 of the screws 18 to the threaded apertures 21 in the keeper plates 22. Each plate or keeper 22 is desirably of a curvature corresponding with that of the flanges 26 and 27.

It will be seen that the parts of my storage rack may be very conveniently assembled, either in the position shown in FIGURE 1 or with the flanges 15 upstanding from the iiat support portions 14. The legs 13 may be one at a time connected to one shelf 12 at a time, by first inserting the keeper plates 22 in place in the legs, then moving the legs and shelf corners from spaced positions, such as illustrated in FIGURE 2, to nesting engagement illustrated in FIGURES l, 3, 4, and 5. Then the screws or bolts 18 may be inserted through the apertures 17, the slots 28, and into threaded engagement in the threaded apertures 21 in the keeper plates 22. These devices 18, after adjusting the shelves as to height desired, as represented by movement between the dottedline and full-line positions in FIGURE 4, may then be tightened, whereupon the flanges 26 and 27 of the legs may be tightly gripped between the keeper plates and the curved corner portions of the shelves, to frictionally hold the legs and shelves rigidly together and in a desired adjusted position with respect to one another.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that I have provided a desirable storage rack which may consist of one or more shelves supported by three or more legs. The parts are few, strongly made and adapted to be rigidly tightened with respect to one another. The shelves may not only be held in desired positions by the legs, but the le s may be held in desired position by the shelves. Such results are accomplished with a minimum of effort, while allowing for convenient disassembly if arid when desired.

I claim:

1. A storage rack comprising a plurality of vertical legs and a horizontal polygonal shelf supported thereby, said shelf having corners corresponding numerically with the legs and being formed from a unitary sheet of metal as a flat support surface and a continuous perimetral flange, said flange at its corners being blunted, each leg being hollow and having a longitudinal surface approximately corresponding in horizontal cross-sectional shape with the corresponding blunted corner of the shelf, said longitudinal surface of each leg being abutted by the corresponding blunted corner, each leg having a longitudinal slot opening through said longitudinal surface along edges extending continuously longitudinally of the leg, a keeper plate for said shelf slidable inside each leg and Wider than the corresponding slot, and means pass ing through said slot of each leg connecting together one blunted corner of the flange and'the corresponding keeper plate and tightenable to frictionally grip the edge portions of the leg on either side of the slot between said blunted portion of the flange and said keeper plate, wherebyto hold the shelf in adjusted position as to height along said legs and to rigidly connect said legs together and brace said shelf. V

2. A storage rack as defined in claim 1 wherein the 'flange of the shelf is wider at the blunted corners than cylindrically concave and each blunted corner of the shelf flange is correspondingly cylindrically convex.

4. A storage rack as defined in claim 1 wherein each leg comprises a single sheet of metal having an exterior longitudinal cylindrically convex web portion intermedi ate its longitudinal edges, the edge portions of the sheet are returned in spaced and coaxial relation to said web portion providing said longitudinal inner surface of the leg approximately cylindrically concave with the edges of said sheet spaced from each other providing said longitudinal slot, the corresponding keeper plate is slidable between said inturned edge portions and said web portion, each blunted corner has at least one aperture, and

the last-named means comprises a headed screw that passes through said aperture and said slot and is screwthreaded into the corresponding keeper plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 819,854 Cornstock May 8, 1906 855,195 Marr May 28, 1907 1,689,481 Gerberich Oct. 30, 1928 1,789,102 Jorgensen Jan. 13, 1931 2,677,470 Gatalano May 4, 1954 2,735,741 Laben a Feb. 21, 1956 2,939,589 Handler June 7, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 583,340 Canada Sept. 15, 1959 

1. A STORAGE RACK COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL LEGS AND A HORIZONTAL POLYGONAL SHELF SUPPORTED THEREBY, SAID SHELF HAVING CORNETS CORRESPONDING NUMERICALLY WITH THE LEGS AND BEING FORMED FROM A UNITARY SHEET OF METAL AS A FLAT SUPPORT SURFACE AND A CONTINUOUS PERIMETRAL FLANGE, SAID FLANGE AT ITS CORNERS BEING BLUNTED, EACH LEG BEING HOLLOW AND HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SURFACE APPROXIMATELY CORRESPONDING IN HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE WITH THE CORRESPONDING BLUNTED CORNER OF THE SHELF, SAID LONGITUDINAL SURFACE OF EACH LEG BEING ABUTTED BY THE CORRESPONDING BLUNTED CORNER, EACH LEG HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT OPENING THROUGH SAID LONGITUDINAL SURFACE ALONG EDGES EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY LONGITUDINALLY OF THE LEG, A KEEPER PLATE FOR SAID SHELF SLIDABLE INSIDE EACH LEG AND WIDER THAN THE CORRESPONDING SLOT, AND MEANS PASSING THROUGH SAID SLOT OF EACH LEG CONNECTING TOGETHER ONE BLUNTED CORNER OF THE FLANGE AND THE CORRESPONDING KEEPER PLATE AND TIGHTENABLE TO FRICTIONALLY GRIP THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE LEG ON EITHER SIDE OF THE SLOT BETWEEN SAID BLUNTED PORTION OF THE FLANGE AND SAID KEEPER PLATE, WHEREBY TO HOLD THE SHELF IN ADJUSTED POSITION AS TO HEIGHT ALONG SAID LEGS AND TO RIGIDLY CONNECT SAID LEGS TOGETHER AND BRACE SAID SHELF. 